Understanding biographies : on biographies in history and stories in biography /
Birgitte Possing ; translated from the Danish by Gaye Kynoch.
- 232 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.
- University of Southern Denmark studies in history and social sciences ; vol. 538 .
- University of Southern Denmark studies in history and social sciences ; v. 538. .
Revised and translated version of the author's Ind i biografien published in 2015.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 197-227) and index.
Who is right : the archive rat or the stylist? -- Where's the muscle? -- The biography dies, and is reborn -- Biographical definitions -- Biographical relevance and historical weight of the individual -- Biographical gender -- Who are the biographers - who are their protagonists? -- Biographical archetypes -- Attitudes, principles, and critics -- Conventions and innovations -- Dusting down and new biographies -- The elastic principles of biography -- The biographical triangle -- Friend, enemy, puppeteer or ghostwriter -- Biographical ethics -- Where is privacy -- A higher form of cannibalism? -- Tread softly - for you tread on my life -- Posthumous privacy -- Biographical muscle -- Four biographies, and how they were read, written and reviewed -- Four biographies -- Just for fun -- The Tautology of myth -- Life caught between light and darkness -- Who is right : the archive rat or the stylist? -- Index. Acknowledgements -- Literature, references, index -- Literature -- Journals and newspapers -- References -- Index.